Practical Kung Fu?

[guird]

Well, the national "wushu" movement in China almost certainly had an impact.

I'm not really familiar with this. Can you share the highlights or is there a good place to read about it?

He's referring to the taolu component of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wushu_%28sport%29

here's a video:

Basically, performance oriented forms competitions. Absolutely awesome if you ask me, but not too practical (aside from the obvious fitness benefits).

[hansenator]

Wim Demeere wrote an interesting article about the state of kung fu today. http://www.wimsblog.com/2015/05/the-effectiveness-of-traditional-chinese-martial-arts/#more-6237

[Luther unleashed]

Please forgive my novel, but I enjoy some of these topics. I have dabbled in wing chun Kung fu, I practice hung gar Kung fu, and have no experience in any other Kung Fu styles so I can't speak about wushu and things like that. I've seen wushu and it's cool looking but that's all I know. I see some of the same techniques that we use in hung gar but I'm sure it's similar to the way korean styles have some of the same ideas on how to do things.

From the standpoint of hung gar, it is very traditional. Hung gar focuses a great deal on stance training, we practice very low stances (as I was taught anyways) for a number of reasons like leg strengthening and so on. Also, there are many very nice applications in hung gar that are actually pretty straight foreword. One thing I always liked about hung gar is poetry. The form "Tiger Crane" has a story that goes with the form that practitioners recite as they perform the form (again, as I was taught)! It's an interesting concept and you'd never see something like that in karate or taekwondo.

As far as it's popularity... Along with other Kung fu styles, I feel that I personally enjoy the hard style martial arts better. I think to a. Outsider Kung fu as karate/taekwondo movements and practices all look funny, but Kung fu can get a little "movie like" when you look at it. Kung fu tends to have more accessive movements then karate in my experience as well. The reason I personally favor karate is a preference rather then how accessible it is to me. I would imagine many other Americans may feel the same. We like high fancy kicks and things of this nature. Hung gar Inparticular uses much more hands. Think about it, why do we suppose taekwondo is so popular on the other side of the coin? It has flourished since it became an Olympic sport. Kung fu was rejected as an Olomouc sport from what I researched before because it lacked a clear ranking system and it was more difficult to identify qualified people. They have since become very common in the ranking system just as other martial arts. In Kung fu the practitioner wears a "sash" typically, which is a variation of a belt with colors leading to the black sash (equal to black belt). Not a styles/schools adopted the sashes, but many have. I just think it's a matter of what appeals more to people as to the popularity.

I teach hung gar in my tang Soo do program. Not a whole lot, but some. I do it to share As much as I can with students and to expose them to it. Their core will remain tang Soo do (korean karate) but I enjoy sharing what I know so as strange as it may sound, I think it's an openminded mind set that grows from such freestyle training. You never know, students may decide to peruse this more down the road from me exposing them to it, and to me that's me trying to do my part to spread martial arts and help people to find their way within a broad range of styles.

Last thing is the direct relation to the UFC! Here is a very important factor with traditional martial arts and sport fighting! Many techniques used In Traditional martial arts are for self defense. They are not used to fight. Some are of course, sparring is more like fighting, but applications to forms, self defense techniques based around things like shirt grabs and defending quickly against an aggressive bullying style, potentially non-skilled situation with drunk/on drug opponents is very different then a professional fighter in front of you with no shirt, no pants, a groin protector and a mouthpiece. The setting of a sport fight (even UFC) is very different then what traditional martial arts aim to teach. The entire class that we may focus on a wrist lock or defensive strike to the groin are a waist for the karate/Kung fu practitioner looking to give it a go in the UFC. More simplistic and direct attacks like direct striking is much more effective in the ring/octagon, and in many cases in a street fight as well. To build on wastlanders point about "pressure tested techniques", I think an average move that was pressure tested is probably more usable in a fight then a really great and simple move that has never had any pressure testing.

[Alan Armstrong]

Maybe Kung Fu is not under-represented. Maybe why look for a fight in or out of a ring or octagen. Kung Fu is about learned skills and not about hurting others. In Kung Fu it is the last resort to hurt another and not the first. Many that practice KF also believe in karma. KF is about harmony and not rivalry. About 60 million Chinese practice some type of Kung Fu I'm sure just out of the shear number that there are a few ultimate's out there, that wouldn't waste there time in competitions.

[Martial Matt]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wushu_(sport)

The basic idea here is the Chinese govt. attempted to organize and regulate martial arts. Being a communist nation, the Chinese wanted to control the teaching and distribution of martial practice. Just IMHO, this was a disaster for the CMA, resulting in many Sifu moving to Hong Kong, Canada or here in the U.S. That being said, there are still good, authentic, non-sport CMA Sifu around in China.

[Alan Armstrong]

Chinese self-defence is underestimated and Japanese self-defense is over estimated. This is why many self-defense classes are in the karate styles.

Marketing self-defence classes in Kung Fu just doesn't work.

Change the word "Kung Fu" for "karate" and the marketing effectiveness works instantly.

Had a Karate Sensei that was really a Kung Fu Sifu. Red necks don't want ballet sensitivity training they want hanging raw meat, rocky style.

Karate vs Karate has a way of cancelling each other out. Same as Samurai vs Samurai. All styles do this. This is the nature of martial arts. Then do a bout in karate and in a split second throw in a touch of Kung Fu; Surprise!